Last night, after we returned home from sampling the snowpit at the drill
site, the weather took a drastic turn for the worse. We were experiencing
blizzard conditions with visibility at roughly 25 ft., and winds gusting
to around 30 knots. Our plans for starting the drilling of the ice
core the following day were looking bleak.

Sure enough when we awoke
this morning the weather was still not done with us. We decided to
call it a “snow day” today, just like the days of elementary
school, and wait for the weather to clear before starting the core. This
was a welcome development to some as taking a day off hasn’t been an
option since their arrival to The Ice. After another delicious breakfast
conjured up by Cathy, the team used the morning to catch up on neglected
digital photo organization, conversation, and even sleep – all very
important tasks!

After lunch we launched the inaugural showing of a
matinee movie in the “Galley Theater”, an impromptu movie theater
consisting of a laptop computer hooked into some small computer speakers. Eat
your heart out THX sound! After the film, the weather started to relax
its grip a bit, and we were able to start digging out our gear, which had
been drifted over by the blowing snow.

Brian used the time to do the
final touches on his radar sled that he will use to collect data as we traverse
across this vast continent. Also news of a “herc” (a US
Air Force LC-130 “Hercules” airplane) making a stop here on its
way from South Pole to McMurdo tomorrow kept people busy as pallets of retro
materials (stuff being sent back to McMurdo) needed to be organized before
the flight arrives. Incoming flights to Taylor Dome have been on weather
delay for the last several days, and if all is clear tomorrow, we may be
having 5 different flights arriving throughout the course of the day. Drilling
of the ice core will also begin tomorrow if all is clear. Should be
busy!

We woke up again this morning to winds and white out conditions. At
times we could hardly see the other buildings in camp which were only about
30 feet away. We spent the days indoors. Brian made a radar box
to protect the 35 Ghz radar from the blowing snow. Mike and Andrei
made shelves for their bunks to store their books and iPods.

We filled all the water jugs. It was difficult to pour the water
into the jugs in the wind. Even with a funnel you had to pour
about 10 inches away from where you wanted the water to end up.

The afternoon was spent watching movies. The planes were canceled
again so we are still waiting for people and parts to arrive.